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Tribune News Service
Moga, December 10
The Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta), Kirti Kisan Union and their allied farm unions have decided to launch a statewide agitation against the state government for having failed to completely waive farm loans.
The decision was taken at a meeting of seven farm unions at Dhudike village in Moga district on Sunday.
Nirbahi Singh Dhudike, president of Kirti Kisan Union, said huge protest rallies would be held at all district headquarters in Punjab on January 18. At the meeting, senior activists of the farm unions accused Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh of betraying the farming community by running away from his pre-poll promises.
“If Amarinder is serious on the issue of farmers’ suicides, he must announce a budgetary provision for waiver of farm loans in the annual budget (planned expenditure) in the coming budget session,” the farm activists demanded.
Alleging that the Punjab Government has adopted “anti-employee and anti-farmer policies”, they also lashed out at Capt Amarinder Singh for backtracking on the promise of one job to each family in the state.
The farm unions demanded scrapping of Section 5.2 of the notification issued by the state government with regard to the waiver of farm loans and inclusion of all farmers having landholdings of less than five acres of land under Section 5.1 of the notification. They demanded legal action against money lenders who take blank cheques, pronotes and signatures on blank papers from farmers while giving loans.
Sukhdev Singh Kokri, general secretary of the BKU (Ekta), demanded compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for the families of farmers and farm labourers who had committed suicide, besides regular government job for at least one family member each.